Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin goes up for a dunk in a scene from 'NBA 2K13.' / 2K Sports

by By Brett Molina, USA TODAY

by By Brett Molina, USA TODAY

Total retail sales for October plunged 25%, the 11th straight month the industry has shown decline, according to data from research firm NPD Group.

Hardware experienced the largest drop, 37%, compared to the same time last year. However, NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan says there are signs of rising momentum as the industry enters the important holiday season.

"While we saw declines in hardware unit sales across all platforms year-over-year, when looking at average sales per week versus September, several consoles realized higher sales," says Callahan.

On the software front, publisher 2K's pro basketball franchise NBA 2K was a slam dunk at retail. NBA 2K13 was the best-selling retail game last month. Capcom thriller Resident Evil 6 -- which had been panned by critics -- finished second.

Also, Bethesda Softworks proved original video game properties can thrive, as its stealth title Dishonored ended October as the fourth best-selling title. The full top 10 (publisher in parentheses):

1. NBA 2K13 (2K Sports)

2. Resident Evil 6 (Capcom)

3. Pokemon Black Version 2 (Nintendo)

4. Dishonored (Bethesda Softworks)

5. Pokemon White Version 2 (Nintendo)

6. Madden NFL 13 (Electronic Arts)

7. FIFA Soccer 13 (Electronic Arts)

8. Medal of Honor: Warfighter (Electronic Arts)

9. Borderlands 2 (2K)

10. Skylanders Giants (Activision)

Overall, software slid 25% compared to Oct. 2011, which featured several notable titles. "Other sequels new to market this month did not perform as well compared to prior iterations," says Callahan. "This, combined with poor comps against the launch of hits like Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City in October 2011 led to the decline."

Next month will likely be huge for the video game industry, with the launches of first-person shooters Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Also counting for the month: sales of Assassin's Creed III, which released on Oct. 30. Then there's the debut of Nintendo's Wii U video game console, introducing high-definition graphics and adding a tablet-style gamepad controller.